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Shirley Pope’s plans for a festive family evening had been sidelined, but the food wasn’t going to waste. She just made less of it and did without the list of groceries Sean didn’t get to fill. She also talked nonstop all the way through the meal, quizzing Sean about the events of his day. He’d already been through the school rescue twice and decided to shift the subject.
“In spite of the unexpected delay, I finished up on the job in town and, in the process, ran into an old school friend.”
Shirley paused and glanced up. “Really? Here? In Jubilee? Who in the world was it?”
Sean got up to refill their iced tea glasses, talking as he worked.
“Mom, do you remember that elementary school we went to back in Conway?”
“You mean Ellen Smith Elementary? Yes, of course I remember it. All four of you went there.”
“Remember that time I got a week of suspension for fighting?”
Shirley frowned. “Yes. Something about them bullying a little girl in your class, wasn’t it?”
Sean nodded. “Yes. Well, the woman I did the work for today turned out to be that same little girl, all grown up. Her name is Amalie Lincoln.”
“Good grief! What a small world,” Shirley said. “Did she recognize you, or did you recognize her?”
“We both kind of recognized each other.” He paused, forked another bite of cake, and popped it in his mouth.
Shirley waited, and when he kept eating cake, she sighed. “And?”
Sean pushed his plate aside and rocked back in his chair.
“Did you know anything about her at the time?” he asked.
“Nothing I can remember now. You tell me,” Shirley said.
“I found out today that she was a foster kid. She told me her foster parents were angry about the incident, cut off all her hair, then told DHS they couldn’t keep her anymore because she was causing trouble and gave her back to the state. I never saw her again and found out today it’s because they took her away. She lived her whole childhood in foster homes.”
Shirley’s eyes welled. “Bless her heart. So, she’s a CPA now?”
He went on to explain where Amalie had been living, and then the accident and the scars, and that moving here was her way of starting over and being her own boss.
“Are the scars that bad?” Shirley asked.
“I think they look worse to her than they do to otherpeople. By the time the day was over, I didn’t even see them anymore. I just saw her. She’s pretty. And really smart. And I asked her if I could take her to dinner some evening.”
Shirley smiled. “That’s about the best news I’ve heard all day. Just don’t drag your feet and wait too long to ask. That kind of stuff weighs heavy on a woman’s heart…being asked out and then getting…getting…spooked? Is that the right word?”
Sean grinned. “Ghosted. The word is and don’t worry. After all the slap downs our family had back in Conway, I wouldn’t do that to anyone.”
“Okay then,” Shirley said. “Have you finished eating?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll clear the table and put up the leftovers. You can load the dishwasher. Then I’m going to bring up some more firewood in case it snows tonight. Hard to get a fire to catch when the wood is wet.”
Shirley glanced out the window. “You go do the firewood now. I’ll do dishes. It’s going to be dark before you know it.”
“Okay, and thanks for supper. I won’t be long,” he said, and went to get his work coat and gloves.
Principal Lowery didn’t leave the hospital that evening until the last child had been released, and then she went home. Her husband met her at the door. Stephanie fell into his arms, sobbing, finally free to let go of heremotions and weep for the shock and horror she’d gone through, feeling responsible for everything when, in fact, nothing had been her fault.
Chapter 4
Maisy Eggert had been treated for smoke inhalation and cuts on her face and neck, and kept thinking how blessed they’d been to come out of this alive. If it hadn’t been for Dani Pope seeing the chopper explosion and realizing the trajectory of the crash, children would have died.
Her husband, Duane, was a pipe fitter and was laying pipeline two states away. She hadn’t seen him in over a month. He knew nothing of what had been happening, but she was cold and couldn’t quit shaking, and she needed to hear his voice.
